April 22, 2020
I wanted to try making vegetarian dumplings a while ago, and we finally restocked on tofu! This was a fun Japanese-inspired dinner, successful even with limited ingredients due to quarantine.
The cucumbers were pickled in rice vinegar, but I think I would also pickle the carrots next time. I learned that I need to improve my julienne skills, but I think I can improve with practice. All the more reason to make this recipe again soon!
This recipe can be veganized by not including the eggs in the tofu filling, but the egg is what holds it together. Maybe I’ll experiment without eggs in the future! However, I would advise not using a flax or chia egg, because it would influence the flavor of the filling.
The tofu dumplings were supposed to be dumplings, but they ended up tasting more like gyoza because they were pan-fried and light. Very good, but lost heat quickly. Otherwise, they were amazing!
Ingredients:
- nearly 2 cups of AP flour
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 package firm tofu
- 2 eggs
- at least 1/2 cup chives/green onions, minced
- Sesame oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, red pepper flakes, all to taste
- 2 carrots
- 1 English cucumber
- soba noodles
- seaweed/nori, sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
- Mix flour and water, use a wooden spoon to protect your hands. Knead until smooth, up to 8 minutes. Let rest for 1 hour.
- Remove tofu from package and press for at least 20 minutes. The longer you press it, the firmer the tofu will become.
- For the filling, break up the pressed tofu with a fork, and mix with eggs, chives, and seasoning. Set aside to marinate.
- Julienne carrots and cucumber, then soak in rice vinegar to pickle.
- After the dough is rested, roll into dumpling skins. Add more flour as needed, and be careful not to roll the dough too thin.
- Wrap the tofu dumplings. I recommend finding a video tutorial if you do not know how to.
- To cook the dumplings, heat a large pan with a neutral oil, place dumplings, and cook uncovered until the bottoms are toasted. Add some water, depending on the size of your pot, and cover, letting the dumplings steam.
- While the dumplings are cooking, boil water for the soba noodles. Add noodles to water and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and soak in ice-cold water to blanch.
- Garnish soba noodles with nori strips and sesame seeds. Season with sesame oil, chili sauce, soy sauce.
- Serve noodles with gyoza/dumplings and pickled vegetables! Enjoy!
